My Favorite Resources for Charlotte Mason Homeschooling
A few weeks ago, I shared some baby steps and resources for those who may have just found Charlotte Mason and wondered where to get started. In that post, I suggested reading her volumes and then making some small changes (or goals) to begin implementing her ideas in your homeschool. Once you’ve started learning more about her philosophies and getting into a steady, Charlotte Mason rhythm, where do you go from there?
One thing that I wish I had when I first began was a list of good Charlotte Mason resources that are available to make this way of educating a little easier, especially for those of us who already have full schedules (which, let’s face it, is probably all of us). There were times when I enjoyed trying to make all parts of our homeschool from scratch for my son, but as time went on and especially when we added my daughter into the mix, I found that I just didn’t have the time to do that anymore. I also felt like the way I was doing things probably could’ve been better. Some of the subjects, like all things music, are weak spots for me, and I felt like I needed some help there.
I was thankful for our homeschool co-op and the wisdom and advice that the other, more seasoned moms had for me, but some subjects we didn’t cover in the co-op were a little bit of an enigma to me. When our co-op ended last year, I had to figure out how to teach the subjects that the other moms in the co-op had covered for us over the previous four years.
So this week, I’m starting a series of posts that will go through the summer where I will be sharing a list of all of my favorite resources for Charlotte Mason homeschooling broken down by subject. These are the ones we’ve tried and have been so helpful in making our days run more smoothly and have engaged my kids in whatever subject we’re covering. I appreciate that they were made by someone (sometimes another homeschooling mom!) far more experienced than me who was able to put the time and effort into making resources that she knows will follow Ms. Mason’s philosophies and resonate with kids.
These are by no means the only resources out there, and I will offer others in some subjects that I have heard of but haven’t had the chance to try, or I have friends who have used them and appreciate them. But the main list will be the resources we’ve used in our homeschool over the last five years that have been so helpful to us. I do also plan to update these posts as we make our way further into our homeschooling journey.
Today I’m starting with a few basics, including curricula and Morning Time!
Curriculum (or Spine)
What We’ve Used
Charlotte Mason-Inspired Kindergarten Curriculum
AmblesideOnline
Other Resources
Charlotte Mason’s Alveary
CMEC
A Delectable Education
Article
A curriculum is probably the first thing that those new to Charlotte Mason will look for when beginning their homeschooling journey. There are quite a few curricula options out there these days that include Charlotte Mason in their description, though I only have personal experience with one. In our family, we have used AmblesideOnline since we began Year 1 in 2017 (we used my Charlotte Mason-Inspired Kindergarten for both kids before that). As we’ve gotten further into our homeschooling experience, I have felt more comfortable substituting books or even removing some of the books altogether (you can read specifically what I’ve done in my planning and recap posts). Still, we have stuck with the curriculum as written for the most part. I love most of the books they’ve chosen, the community surrounding this curriculum, and their desire to “provide a wide and generous education for all,” which is why their curriculum is free.
Because I’m planning to use AO all through our homeschooling years, I keep the booklist for Years 1-12 on my phone. When I’m at a book sale or happen to see a book at a store that I think might be on the list, I can check quickly. This has been extremely helpful in keeping the costs of our curriculum to a minimum.
The other ones mentioned above are those that friends of mine have used (most of the families in our homeschool co-op used The Alveary), or I have known some of the planners of the curriculum and respect them very much (CMEC). A Delectable Education, which friends have also used, does not have a general curriculum listed anywhere but instead offers consults, after which they provide a curriculum tailored to your kids.
As I mentioned before, there are other Charlotte Mason curricula available, but these are the ones I know either personally or through friends and feel comfortable enough with to recommend.
Morning Time
Resource
Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love
Articles
31 Days of Morning Time
Simple Kindergarten Morning Time for Homeschoolers
Morning time is not a necessary part of a homeschool day, but I have found it to be so helpful in our daily routine. It allows us a sort of transition time between breakfast/chores and our lesson time. We always start with prayer and then do other things during Morning Time that might otherwise get lost in our schedule, like picture and composer study, singing our hymns and folk songs, and reading any other books I might want to add into our day that aren’t part of our curriculum (right now it is The Book of Virtues and The Spring of the Year). In my planning posts, I also share our general layout for Morning Time, and this is the most recent version.
Our Morning Time only lasts about 15 to 30 minutes depending on what we do, but I have heard of some Morning Times that were two hours and covered a wide variety of subjects. However you decide to do it, the above resources can help you make one that will work for your family.
In my next post in the series, I’ll be sharing our favorite resources for Bible and Shakespeare! If you’re not signed up for my newsletter, click here to get a notification when the new post is available!
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